4 Marketing Strategies to Sell Out Your Next Local Event

Banzai is a B2B corporate learning company focused on driving audience acquisition for regional field events. Having executed hundreds of regional events, we will be running a series of blogs focused on regional event best practices.

If you’re worried about empty seats at your next event, here is a list of four simple tactics to reduce your stress and guarantee a return on investment.

1. Don’t Pick a Hotel Conference Room

This might sound obvious, but it’s astounding how many events take place at boring venues. Take the time to carefully select a unique place that suits the needs of your event whether that be a fun activity, sophisticated AV, or accessibility. In an upcoming article, I’ll be discussing some of the top venues for regional events from around the country. Stay tuned!

2. Survey Your Attendees

Give the people what they want! If you demonstrate to your attendees that the event will cater to their wishes, you are guaranteed better attendance. Events are all about the attendee experience. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your attendees and ask them if they enjoyed the event, what can be improved next time, etc. Feedback is critical.

3. Promote the Event Everywhere

Don’t stop at a few email invitations and a landing page. Your website homepage should promote the event. If your company has a customer log in, promote the event there. Surface banners on your blog, LinkedIn advertising, and email marketing are all effective tools for driving event registration. However, nothing beats picking up the phone and making some calls.

4. Get Serious and Pick Up the Phone

Studies have shown time and time again that accountability yields results. For instance, you are more likely to accomplish a goal if you tell someone about it. The same goes for events. Your registrants are more likely to attend an event if they provide written or verbal confirmation. Insist your marketing team to budget for call downs to drive registration and verify attendance. The cost of your event is not just venue, catering, etc. Audience acquisition is a real cost, that requires real budget.